News Cuttings

IADC showcases strategy for operational integrity at regional forum

Dr Brenda Kelly, IADC senior director, program development, participated in the Latin American Forum on Energy and Environment at the University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences on 4-5 March. The event aims to strengthen relationships between the energy and environmental sectors in Latin America, the Caribbean and the US.

“The forum provided an excellent venue to discuss the opportunities and challenges of deepwater oil and gas industry expansion in the region,” Dr Kelly said. “My presentation showcasing IADC’s strategy to enhance operational integrity through people, equipment and processes sparked interest in collaborating on regional training initiatives to better equip local personnel for the deepwater drilling challenges and called attention to  IADC initiatives that could benefit the industry both regionally and globally.”

This year’s meeting, the eighth time the forum has convened, offered a space for policymakers, academics and industry leaders to share ideas about careful stewardship of environmental and energy resources.

Topics discussed included the technical challenges of developing unconventional resources, a legal perspective on oil and gas investment in Latin America, geological and technical challenges of monetization of deepwater Gulf of Mexico resources, the challenges and opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago, and the nexus of the environment, renewables and water, among others.

“It was a privilege for IADC to join the many distinguished Latin American and US governmental leaders in this event,” Dr Kelly concluded.

IADC ART Committee holds subsea BOP workshop, considers creation of BOP Controls Subcommittee

Two subcommittees under the IADC Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee are noting industry’s increased interest in blowout preventers (BOP) and control systems. Undoubtedly, industry events of the past three years have driven concern and curiosity, along with governmental requirements for reporting and certification.

Primary concerns voiced by committee members have focused on BOP system robustness and reliability.

The ART Future Technology Subcommittee held a Subsea BOP Workshop in Houston on 21 March, which received positive feedback from attendees.

The Drilling Controls Systems (DCS) Subcommittee has also received numerous requests on BOP control systems, both hydraulic and multiplexed electrical/electronic, for offshore and onshore applications.

Due to the interest, the DCS subcommittee has proposed forming a BOP Controls Subcommittee. This task is under way, with discussions continuing at the 15 May DCS subcommittee meeting. IADC members are encouraged to attend and help shape the direction of the IADC ART Committee.

For more information or to register for the DCS Subcommittee meeting, please contact Holly Shock at +1-713-292-1945.

Well Servicing Committee to develop incident-reporting system, hold workshop

The IADC Well Servicing Committee, formed in 2008, continues to grow in the number of members and its scope of work.

During its 13 February meeting, several new members joined the conversation and contributed feedback to ongoing issues.

Specifically discussed was the creation of an incident statistics reporting system for the well services community.

Although similar to the current IADC-administered ISP program for drilling, the Well Servicing ISP will be tailored to the well servicing industry and will form the first voluntary database collection of such information.

The data collected in the Well Servicing ISP will be used for benchmarking and comparison on a global basis. Participation is completely voluntary and company names will not be shared.

In addition to the Well Servicing ISP, the committee decided to move forward with the first IADC Well Services workshop. The workshop is being organized by the committee with regards to topics that are relevant to the well servicing industry.

The Well Services workshop will take place on 30 October 2013 at NOV’s offices in Houston.

“It is exciting for me personally to have been heavily involved with the IADC HSE Committee for many years on the drilling side of the business and now within the Well Servicing Committee,” said Kerric Peyton, vice president of HSEQ and training for Superior Energy Services.

“IADC has accomplished so much for its members over the years,” he continued. “I would personally like to extend an invitation to all well servicing companies to join IADC and become an active member in the Well Servicing Committee.”

IADC supports SEMS II rule, to continue collaboration with BSEE

In a news release issued on 4 April, IADC supported the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) II final rule issued by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

The rule complements the original SEMS rule, issued in October 2010 and known as the Workplace Safety Rule. The SEMS II ruling further protects workers and the environment from preventable accidents. It provides for more participation by employees and empowers field personnel to make safety management decisions. Additionally, it will require audits be conducted by accredited third parties.

“IADC is pleased that BSEE has understood and responded in a positive way to many of the concerns raised by our organization and other industry stakeholders in response to the proposed rule,” Alan Spackman, vice president of IADC’s offshore division, said.

“This rule is intended to address a myriad of complex operations associated with the effective management of offshore oil and gas activities,” he added. “IADC will be joining with other industry groups to analyze the rule in depth. We trust that BSEE will work with the industry to improve or provide further clarification of the rule should it prove necessary.”

The SEMS II rule becomes effective on 4 June 2013.

William Reilly addresses industry at IADC conference

William K Reilly, administrator of the environmental protection agency under former President George H.W. Bush and co-author of the national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling report, spoke at the IADC Environmental Conference and Exhibition in New York City on 8 April.

Mr Reilly discussed the energy opportunities of shale gas, noting its lower emission levels of greenhouse gases compared with coal. He also complemented the industry’s self-response since Macondo, citing the attention to BOPs and their improvement as impressive.

He also highlighted the need for better communication between regulators and the regulated, with particular emphasis on improvements in process safety.

Read more about Mr Reilly’s address here.